NDAA
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Today is veto day for the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. President Barack Obama vetoes the bill at an event in the Oval Office today. But the acquisition provisions in the bill aren't the reason for the veto, so they'll probably live on in whatever NDAA President Obama signs eventually. Rob Burton is a partner at the law firm Venable and former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. He joined Tom Temin on today's Federal Drive to review those provisions.
October 22, 2015 -
The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Congress sent to President Barack Obama on Tuesday contains nearly 100 separate provisions intended to reform the Defense Department's acquisition system. But that’s just the start, say Capitol Hill’s top two Defense legislators.
October 20, 2015 -
The service is implementing one of the few alternatives it has to a base realignment and closure (BRAC) round: moving soldiers and civilians out of its oldest buildings and shuttering them.
October 19, 2015 -
The National Defense Authorization Act this year includes some big reforms for acquisition at the Defense Department. It's the latest attempt to improve how the government gets the things it needs. Bob Lohfeld, CEO and general manager of Lohfeld Consulting Group, wrote about the challenging search for good procurement practices. He wrote that he sees little evidence of convergence on the best acquisition practices. In Depth with Francis Rose asked him if he sees a convergence of the worst acquisition practices instead.
October 15, 2015 -
Congressional leaders are calling for bipartisan efforts to raise spending caps, to keep Defense funded and also provide government services that so many Americans rely on for education, health and employment.
October 08, 2015 -
Analysts say it is unlikely Congress will rebuff President Obama if he decides to veto the defense authorization bill, which passed the Senate Oct. 7.
October 07, 2015 -
DoD is establishing centers of excellence to verify commercial item costs without requiring cost and pricing data from companies.
October 06, 2015 -
The fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill includes major acquisition reforms. The bill would give military service chiefs more power over the defense acquisition processes. The authorization bill may be in trouble though. President Obama has threatened to veto it. Federal News Radio's reporter Scott Maucione tells In Depth with Francis Rose about what Congress is calling for at DoD
October 06, 2015 -
The Senate will begin debate on this year's National Defense Authorization Act this week. Bloomberg reports a cloture vote is likely tomorrow, with a vote on approval after that. The House passed the conference report on the NDAA 270 to 156 Thursday. Andrew Hunter, senior fellow in the International Security Program and director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told In Depth with Francis Rose the NDAA is a big deal every year, but this year it's even bigger.
October 05, 2015 -
A section of the Defense Authorization act requiring the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to consider cost and schedule delays survives a congressional conference despite DoD’s opposition.
October 02, 2015 -
A new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found the Air Force's competition rate for service contracts dropped by 15 percent over the last six years, while other military services saw competition go up.
October 01, 2015 -
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday that he has advised President Barack Obama to veto the Defense Authorization bill Congress will vote on later this week for several reasons.
October 01, 2015 -
The Defense Authorization Act will expand milestone decision authority for military service chiefs, it just has to get past President Obama first.
September 30, 2015 -
House and Senate negotiators finally shook hands Tuesday on a defense authorization bill both parties generally support and would enact some of the most sweeping and aggressive changes to the military’s personnel and acquisition systems in several decades.
September 30, 2015 -
The House of Representatives will vote this week on the fiscal 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith told Bloomberg the House and Senate conferees have a deal, so the vote could come before Friday. That bill includes a provision that would give service chiefs more oversight over major acquisitions. Frank Kendall, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics recently gave some oversight of acquisitions to the secretaries of the service branches. But giving away that oversight is a bad idea no matter who OSD gives it to, Charles Tiefer, professor of contract law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former commissioner on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, told In Depth with Francis Rose. He wrote on Forbes about why he thinks the NDAA's reform is a bad idea.
September 29, 2015